[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7131 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7131

To amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to 
 establish an additional reporting requirement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 30, 2024

    Mr. Bacon (for himself, Mr. Alford, Mrs. Hinson, Mr. Bost, Mr. 
Newhouse, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Finstad, and Ms. 
  Houlahan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to 
 establish an additional reporting requirement, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. REPORTING; ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Reporting Requirement.--Section 2 of the Agricultural Foreign 
Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(g) Minimum Ownership.--In the case of agricultural land in which 
more than 1 foreign person acquires or transfers any interest, other 
than a security interest, the reporting requirements under this section 
shall apply to each foreign person who holds at least a 1 percent 
interest in that land--
            ``(1) directly through the first tier of ownership; or
            ``(2) in the aggregate through an interest in other 
        entities at various tiers.''.
    (b) Enforcement.--Section 4 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment 
Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3503) is amended--
            (1) by striking the section designation and all that 
        follows through ``The Secretary'' and inserting the following:

``SEC. 4. INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Actions by FPAC-BC.--As part of the actions taken under 
subsection (a), the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center 
shall--
            ``(1) take such actions as are necessary to validate the 
        data collected under section 2, including revising and 
        validating information throughout the data collection process;
            ``(2) take such actions as are necessary to ensure 
        compliance with section 2(g); and
            ``(3) in coordination with the Farm Service Agency, to the 
        maximum extent practicable, identify persons that have carried 
        out an activity subject to a civil penalty described in 
        paragraph (1) or (2) of section 3(a).''.

SEC. 3. AGRICULTURAL FOREIGN INVESTMENT DISCLOSURE IMPROVEMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) AFIDA.--The term ``AFIDA'' means the Agricultural 
        Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et 
        seq.).
            (2) FPAC-BC.--The term ``FPAC-BC'' means the Farm 
        Production and Conservation Business Center.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
    (b) MOU With CFIUS.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into 1 or more 
memoranda of understanding with the Committee on Foreign Investment in 
the United States under which the Secretary shall provide the Committee 
with all relevant information relating to reports on foreign ownership 
of United States agricultural land submitted to the Secretary under 
section 2 of AFIDA (7 U.S.C. 3501), including information on--
            (1) each report submitted to the Secretary; and
            (2) with respect to each such report, the identity of the 
        person submitting the report and the date of submission.
    (c) AFIDA Handbook Updates.--
            (1) First update.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall update the most 
        recent version of the Farm Service Agency handbook entitled 
        ``Foreign Investment Disclosure'' as determined necessary by 
        the Secretary for the effective implementation of AFIDA, which 
        update shall incorporate recommendations made by the report of 
        the Government Accountability Office entitled ``Foreign 
        Investments in U.S. Agricultural Land: Enhancing Efforts to 
        Collect, Track, and Share Key Information Could Better Identify 
        National Security Risks'' and dated January 18, 2024.
            (2) Subsequent updates.--After updating the handbook 
        described in paragraph (1) under that paragraph, the Secretary 
        shall carry out an update of that handbook every 10 years 
        thereafter, including by incorporating any recommendations of 
        the Government Accountability Office.
    (d) Analysis of Streamlined Process for Electronic Submission and 
Retention of Reports Under AFIDA.--
            (1) Definition of covered process.--In this subsection, the 
        term ``covered process'' means the streamlined process for 
        electronic submission and retention of disclosures made under 
        AFIDA required under section 773 of division A of the 
        Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (7 U.S.C. 3501 note; 136 
        Stat. 4509).
            (2) Analysis.--Unless the covered process is established by 
        not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
        the FPAC-BC, in coordination with the Farm Service Agency, 
        shall, by that date--
                    (A) carry out an analysis of the specific steps 
                required to establish that process and the elements of 
                that process; and
                    (B) develop a timeline for specific implementation 
                benchmarks to be met.
            (3) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
        Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a 
        report describing the analysis and implementation timeline 
        under paragraph (2), if applicable.
                                 <all>